


the roles we play

by FallenCiatokins



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, F/M, Feelings Realization, Time Passage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 10:08:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30137937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenCiatokins/pseuds/FallenCiatokins
Summary: “Perhaps,” he spoke softly, quite shyly. “Perhaps I do care for you for more than just… the cause.” Her heart began to beat fast, too fast. Wait, what was he saying? “Ahem. Dorothea, you have been a good friend to Lady Edelgard. And to me, I suppose. It has been nice to get to know you better over the past five years.”“Thank you, Hubie. I appreciate it. When you say something nice, I know it comes from the heart.”Dorothea and Hubert come from very different backgrounds. But both have one thing in common -- they have always been forced to play a role.
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Hubert von Vestra
Kudos: 8
Collections: Dorobert Weekend





	the roles we play

_ Year 1171, Mittelfrank Opera Company _

Dorothea Arnault breathed in slowly. Her insides were trembling as she prepared to go on stage. She had rehearsed her lines over and over -- it was Dorothea’s first time on stage, and she was terrified. Not just terrified to fail, but afraid about what would happen _ if  _ she failed. She didn’t want to go back to the streets. For the last three months, her stomach had not grumbled a single time, and she had been able to take real baths, not just the ones that she used to take in the water fountains.

“Dorothea, it’s time to go!” The opera director, an overweight elderly man, gave her an uncomfortable slap on her behind as she went by. She responded by simply giving him her biggest smile. She did not like him much, but he had lifted her from poverty, so she’d smile as much as she must to make him happy.

She was trembling, but she knew what she had to do. She was ready to sing her heart out, and do whatever she must to succeed. She was just a backup singer right now. As the newest member of the troupe, she was given the least essential role, but nevertheless, her stomach filled with butterflies.

The audience began to clap as they all walked on stage. Not just for her, not yet, but hopefully, someday they would. She wanted to be a star like Manuela, sooner or later. In her mind, she envisioned them clapping for her.

\--

Hubert von Vestra sat in the box, trying his best to look impassive. To do his job as the future Minister of the Imperial Household, he had to keep his composure at all times. The Hresvelg kids around his age were playing happily in the Imperial box at the opera: the older ones joking, the younger ones running around. But Hubert sat still; it was not his job to entertain them. His role was to know all of their wants and their needs. Not to be their friends and definitely not to waste time playing. 

“Hubert, do you think that the new songstress on stage is cuuuute?” one of the Hresvelg daughters, Caroline, teased him. He eyed the girl and raised one eyebrow, unamused. She might be slightly older than him, but she certainly did not act like it. She poked him with her finger. “Hubert, why are you always so stuffy? It’s okay for you to have fun sometimes.”

“It is my role to serve the Hresvelg family, not to ‘play’. I am here to provide for your needs. That is all.” It would be inappropriate for him to get upset at a member of the Imperial family, even one acting so flippantly. Edelgard would not have done this to him.

Thinking about Edelgard burned his soul. Even though she was the ninth child, he had always had a particular fondness for her. But… a few months ago, she had disappeared. It had been the most devastating event of his life, and after he had failed to find her, he had been punished severely by his father. But… where could she have gone? And why did no one seem as concerned about it as he was? Here they were, at the opera, as if everything was normal. As if one of their siblings was not missing. He clenched his fist behind him, so none of the others would see him as he disguised his rage. 

“Then tell me if you think that girl is cute!” Caroline ordered, with a pouty look on her face as she stomped her foot. She pointed toward the young songstress with brown hair. 

The eldest brother, Avery, spoke in a clear, deep voice. “Leave Hubert alone, Caroline! Unlike you, he is here working, and you should respect that.”

“Fine.” The princess crossed her arms and, as soon as Avery turned back to watching the performance, stuck her tongue out at Hubert. 

The unpleasant exchange over, he eyed the young songstress on stage Caroline had pointed out. She was beautiful, of course. Songstresses in the opera usually were, and as a servant of the imperial family, he had been to many operas. He enjoyed the songs and the theatrical aspects, he admitted, and sometimes he would perform songs in front of the mirror. By only in private, at home, where no one else could see. Certainly not Caroline, who would mock him relentlessly, and unquestionably not his father, who would… Hubert flinched to even consider it.

It might be fun to be a singer on stage, Hubert reflected. But he had his own role to play.

_ Year 1180, Garreg Mach Monastery _

Dorothea sat in front of the mirror, preparing for her first day at the monastery. She was here to find a rich husband, and she hoped that he would be a bearable enough person. And to get an education, she supposed. She brushed her hair with one hundred strokes, just as she had learned to do in the opera. She put on the earrings that the girls had pooled their money together to buy her. She then gave a long glance to her reflection in the mirror.

Her uniform fit just right. It was a little tight around the breasts, but she hoped that would be appealing to whatever noblemen she encountered at the school. She knew that she wasn’t the thinnest, not since she had been taken in by the opera and fed three square meals a day. Perhaps she should try dieting again to improve her figure, and then she wouldn’t have to squeeze into this damn corset. She had put it on this morning to give a perfect impression, but it was so painful she could hardly handle it. It made every breath painful, but she had long learned to hide that. At least it made her tits look nice.

The smile she gave in the mirror was a hollow one. She just needed to secure a future for herself. She wouldn’t be beautiful forever, and she did not want to live on the streets again. She had already suffered the indignity of convincing a nobleman to pay for her schooling -- one night of fun for him, one night of humiliation for her -- and she would do whatever it took to survive.

Even if it meant smiling with gritted teeth for this whole year.

Dorothea dabbed on a bit of perfume before leaving her room (on the first floor -- her patron hadn’t paid enough money to get her a second-floor room!). She first walked into the garden. The flowers were beautiful and blooming at the gazebo, an excellent place for a date. If she found any suitable men, she would be sure to invite them here. At least looking at the flowers would make up for any boring male conversation that she’d presumably have to endure.

Then she turned the corner into the main hall. As she walked down the hall, a crass gentleman whistled at her. Dorothea supposed that meant her attempt to make herself alluring was a success. She turned and regarded the man with what she hoped he would take for interest. A minor Alliance noble, if her research was correct. She put on her brightest smile. “Why, hello there, handsome. My name is Dorothea; I just arrived here yesterday. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Wow, you are quite the beauty! Are you free on Saturday after dinner? My room is on the second floor, third to the left.” He was bold, at least. Bold and likely disgusting. 

“For you? Of course.” She gave him a cute wink and blew a kiss at him. “But right now, baby, I have to go to class.” And then she walked on, casting him a final coy look as she strode away. When she turned the corner, she grimaced. 

How was she going to handle this?

\--

A student.

It was laughable that he and Lady Edelgard had to endure this farce of a school. But it was all a part of their plan, so he played along. Lady Edelgard was very serious about her studies, despite their questionable value and the even more dubious nature of their professor. This woman was neither trained nor qualified for the job. Hubert supposed that the word of the monstrous Lady Rhea was more important than qualifications, though. 

While he sat in the classroom, ostensibly studying religious history with Seteth, Hubert’s mind went elsewhere. He needed to find out the hidden ins and outs of this monastery, and fast. They couldn’t allow those disgusting people -- Those Who Slither in the Dark -- to have the upper hand on them. Hubert refused to depend on them. But he and Lady Edelgard played a dangerous game, pretending to befriend them while opposing Rhea. Both groups filled him with revulsion. But they needed help taking down the Church of Seiros -- the Church had both the Alliance and especially the Kingdom nobles in their back pockets. So either they had to suffer a humiliating defeat to the Church or side with monsters. How frustrating.

Edelgard played the role of the diligent student much better than he did. He covered his mouth to disguise a smile as he watched her listen oh-so-intently to whatever nonsense Seteth was spewing. Knowledge was power, she said. But religious history, and for that matter most of the skills learned at this school, were not very valuable to him.

For his part, he hoped that the Church itself would be history soon. 

_ Year 1185, Garreg Mach Monastery _

Dorothea tried to be as strong as she could, standing near the back at the funeral ceremony honoring Randolph von Bergliez, but she felt her hands shaking and the tears welling up in her eyes. She gazed upon Edie, her friend and the Emperor of the Adrestian Empire, who seemed quite remorseful in that way that leaders do, sad but in a distant way. Resolved to the fact that death would happen on her watch. She looked so composed, so aloof. Dorothea could never entirely understand her friend’s approach to war, nor her dispassionate demeanor. Dorothea was glad that she could hide in the back and silently weep instead of being in front of everyone like Edie was.

She supposed that everyone in this room, including herself, would go back to performing their roles at the end of the day. Some of them would be sadder than others -- Caspar would likely mourn for several days more -- but even he would go back to his role as a general in the Empire. As if nothing had transpired. As if they were all just acting out parts in a grand opera, on a world stage.

At the end of the ceremony, she composed herself and walked out of the room somberly. As she strode down the hall back to her quarters, she heard a low, aristocratic voice, trying to inflect a gentle tone. “Dorothea. How are you holding up?”

Hubert von Vestra. When she had first met Hubert, she had thought of him as nothing more than Edelgard’s servant, a man who would do anything to serve his liege. At the time, in her mind, the only reason a man would confer such devotion to a woman was to bed her. But she had been mistaken; her assumption probably more reflected her opinion of the men she had encountered in her life than her view of Hubert himself. No, he seemed perfectly happy to serve Edelgard without any expectation of romance. 

She admitted she found herself attracted to him for that. When she had first met him in the monastery, she had found him a bit… standoffish, and his hair was dreadfully unfashionable. But at some point in the last five years, he had started taking better care of his hair, and he had slowly become more in tune with other people’s feelings. He was not conventionally handsome, but she found his cute little smile, which he doubtless intended to be intimidating, to be sweet in its own way.

“I’ll survive. As we always do.” She let out a long sigh. “These losses have been difficult to endure. It’s horrible seeing people that you know die, just like that. I don’t think I’ll ever grow used to it. Randolph was a good man.”

Hubert spoke intensely in response. “That he was. We honor his memory and his sacrifices by making sure that his death is not in vain.” She didn’t understand how they could see things this way, he and Edelgard. She supposed they had prepared their whole lives for this, whereas she had been startled by the onset of war. But their disposition still surprised her.

Trying to lighten the mood, Dorothea flashed him a smile. “I didn’t realize you would be so concerned for me, Hubie.” 

Hubert eyed her and brushed away her comment. “Well, you are important to our cause, after all.” He looked a little on edge, though.

“Is that all, Hubie? I thought perhaps you were starting to catch some feelings. Maybe that you cared about me just a little.” Dorothea half-heartedly laughed and gave him a little wink. After she had proposed that they get married to further the cause, he had been almost at a loss for words, which she thought was quite amusing. He gave her another one of those incredulous looks again in response. 

“Perhaps,” he spoke softly, quite shyly. “Perhaps I do care for you for more than just… the cause.” Her heart began to beat fast, too fast. Wait, what was he saying? “Ahem. Dorothea, you have been a good friend to Lady Edelgard. And to me, I suppose. It has been nice to get to know you better over the past five years.”

“Thank you, Hubie. I appreciate it. When you say something nice, I know it comes from the heart.”

He responded with a quick bow of his head. He was so stiff. “I must go back to tending to my duties, Dorothea. I hope you fare well in the rest of your day.” And with that, Hubert went back to his place at Edelgard’s side. As for Dorothea, she was left to stew in her feelings, both sadness and, creeping up on her, a tiny bit of giddiness. 

\--

His purpose in life was to serve Lady Edelgard, and nothing should interfere with that goal. She had her ambitions, and his job was to serve at her side and help her bring them to fruition. 

These pesky emotions were percolating in his brain, though. Dorothea Arnault. Former songstress at the Mittlefrank Opera Company. He had probably seen her when he was required to attend the opera, but he could not remember seeing her. 

She had suggested that they get married as... a way for her to get to know him better. At first, it was easy for him to brush off her proposal of marriage as whimsical teasing. After contemplating it, though, he had thought it was not such a bad idea. It served her goal of financial stability, and it fit his aims of having a steadfast collaborator in the fight he was preparing against Those Who Slither in the Dark. Someone who could perform his duties to Edelgard in his absence. 

But the more time he spent with her, the more she fascinated him. She was stunning; even he, usually above such superficial physical attraction, could recognize just how gorgeous she was. Her emerald eyes gleamed as she teased him, as she did more and more frequently of late. 

“Hubert.” Edelgard’s voice interrupted his thoughts. He shook himself back into reality. “Hubert, are you okay?” Her voice carried a hint of mockery. She was smirking at him as she sat in her office in the monastery. “What were you pondering? You were smiling about something; another one of your secrets?”

“Oh, it is nothing you should concern yourself with, Lady Edelgard. Your time should be used contemplating more important things than my frivolous thoughts.” Despite his best efforts, he felt his mouth curl into a smile. Quickly, he covered his mouth with his hand.

Edelgard sounded exasperated. “Hubert, did you not promise me that you’d share more details about your life with me? That you’d let me in? You were thinking about something that made you happy. Please tell me!”

Should he talk to her about it? How much teasing would he endure for this? He sighed. “Dorothea wants to marry me.” Edelgard gasped. “Not out of love, of course, but for convenience. She has been looking for a suitable spouse who can provide for her financially. And she said she would help me in whatever duties that I needed to serve you, Lady Edelgard.”

Edelgard let out a soft, tender laugh. He usually loved to hear her laugh -- his liege was so often full of sorrow or cold resolve and had no time for laughter -- but he was not so sure he liked it being directed at him. “So was that why you were grinning like an idiot, Hubert?”

He could feel his cheeks getting red. “It’s just that I… I mean, Dorothea is very beautiful and charming, you know. And I thought it would not be so bad to have a spouse such as she.”

“Oh, so you like her, then? Cute! Oh, Hubert, you should ask her on a date!” Edelgard grinned from ear to ear. “You deserve to go on a date after all of your hard work!”

Hubert was feeling suddenly flustered. “I-I’m not sure if I-”

Edelgard interrupted him, rolling her eyes at him. “Are you nervous? Don’t be nervous. Just ask her out. I don’t want to hear you stammering over yourself for the next three million years.”

Hubert spoke in a determined voice. His heart was beginning to fill with an unfamiliar aching. He rolled his eyes back at Edelgard. “Fine. I resolve to try.”

_ 1186, The Kingdom Capital, Fhirdhad _

The voice of the Emperor of Adrestia, their war leader, rang out clearly as she faced the draconic creature who was once Rhea, the Archbishop of the Church of Seiros. “When humanity stands strong and people reach out for each other, there’s no need for gods.”

As inspiring as Edelgard’s line was, Dorothea was overwhelmed. In a fury, Lady Rhea had sacrificed her allies in the city, including ordinary people who had done nothing wrong. And now she was defeated. Dorothea collapsed to her knees and began to give in to the exhaustion that she had been fending off for the last day, week, month, year. She didn’t know anymore. Dorothea felt tears rolling down her cheeks and sweat forming all over her body as she slumped down. She knew she shouldn’t stay here for long; this city wasn’t safe. But she just… relished a moment of rest.

After a minute, she felt one hand grip each of her shoulders. “Dorothea, let’s escape from the burning city before we relax.” The voice that came from above her was Hubert’s, and it cracked with an almost imperceptible tone of concern.

She picked herself up off the ground and looked at her robe, covered in soot and dirt and blood. She dusted it off as best she could, but she knew nothing would remove the bloodstains. “Of course, you’re right. What was I thinking?”

“It’s nothing to concern yourself over. But we should really go.” Hubert’s face was splattered in blood, but he didn’t seem phased by it. He took a wayward glance at Edelgard, standing with Byleth… whose hair was now blue again. Dorothea frowned. Had killing Lady Rhea caused this, somehow? All of this made her sick to her stomach. “Don’t say anything,” he added. “We can talk about it later.”

She nodded and walked with him and the rest of the army back to the base camp. Once they were clear of the city, she spoke up again. “Hubert, thank you for helping me out back there. All of these battles have taken their toll on me.”

Hubert responded with a shrug. “And thank you for your well-timed Thoron to save me from that paladin that was headed straight toward me. My blood could have covered his lance if you hadn’t been there. As trusted allies, we help each other in times of need, right?”

Dorothea still felt a bit dejected. He and Edelgard had always been so strong, so unrelenting. Why couldn’t she be that way? “Yeah, I suppose so. But I sometimes feel like I need more help than others.”

“That is not accurate. You have done well.” Hubert let a tiny bit of weariness slip from his voice. He then let out a small chuckle. “I have spent my whole life planning and preparing for this war. I admire you for your help. Even now, I will still continue to fight Lady Edelgard’s enemies, but with Rhea’s defeat, the war is won. I feel… satisfied, but also a bit empty as well.” He glanced over to Dorothea. “And you? What do you plan to do now?”

Dorothea gave him a slight smile back. “I am not sure. I might go back to the opera.”

Hubert spoke in his usual chilly monotone. “Would you consider working with me in the Ministry of the Imperial Household?” Her heart fluttered. “I could use someone reliable and trustworthy to help me with my new duties.”

“Oh, that sounds like a good idea, Hubie.”  _ Would you consider kissing me right here, right now? _ No, she couldn’t be that forward, but… “Would you consider going on a date with me once we get back to the palace?”

Hubert turned his head to face her, and his mouth dropped open in shock. Her senses clouded with the anxiety of being rejected.

He licked his lips before speaking. “Of course, Dorothea. In truth, I… have desired to go on a date as well. I have been far too cowardly to ask. I have never been adept at matters of the heart.”

“Then it’s settled. We’ll just have to decide where we want to go for our date. But we can do that later.” She nodded toward the women’s sleeping tents, where she stayed with the other female Imperial generals. “For now, though, I think I want to bathe and then sleep for a while. I need my beauty rest.” And she skipped away, happy as she could be. 

\--

Hubert had done many things over his twenty-six-year life. But to be a good partner, especially to a woman who dazzled as brightly as Dorothea? It was a most intimidating prospect.

He would have to ponder on this. Perhaps he could do some research on how romantic partners behaved? Maybe borrow one of Lady Edelgard’s romance novels, her favorite, even. How embarrassing. She would mock him relentlessly, and he would just have to deal with it.

Sighing in anticipation of being mocked, Hubert walked into the Emperor’s tent, where she and Byleth greeted him with exhilarated looks on their faces. They had been victorious. He had almost forgotten their victory, in the whirlwind of his own emotions. Lady Edelgard ran up to him and hugged him, and Byleth clasped her hands together. The mystery of the former professor was something that he would have to unravel later, but there were more important things on his mind now.

“Hubert. We won. We won!” Lady Edelgard squeezed him tightly in her arms. He had never been much of a hugger, but today he enjoyed his liege’s embrace.

He supposed he still had to play his role as her confidant. His romantic whims would have to wait until another day.

_ 1186, Enbarr  _

It was a sunny day, and Dorothea looked in the mirror at her flowing red dress with pink lace. A straw hat adorned her head and on it a pink ribbon. She put on her favorite lipstick, a soft red color, suitable for such a beautiful day.

She walked out of her bedroom and made her way to the palace gardens. As she passed by the various flowers and took in the beautiful, sweet scent of the honeysuckles, she smiled contentedly. In the gazebo sat her date, Hubert von Vestra. Seeing him there made her smile even more. For the first time in her life, she was with someone who made her feel like she could be herself. She had never dated a man who made her feel like an equal, like a partner instead of an inferior.

He sat at the table, stroking his chin in contemplation. He was still dressed in a plain outfit, black suspenders with a white shirt, but at least he looked more relaxed. He gave her a genuine smile back. “It’s a pleasure to have you as a lunch companion, my beautiful Dorothea.” He rose to his feet to reach for her hand. Such romantic words from Hubert. She couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. 

“And it is a pleasure to have you as a lunch companion as well, my handsome Hubert.” She giggled and took a seat. “You’re looking awfully relaxed today.”

“I am starting to settle into my new role here at the palace. It’s nice to no longer be at war -- at least, not a public one.” He snickered. “It feels a little more natural for me to be in the shadows, fighting against unseen enemies. I spent too much time in public as Lady Edelgard’s aide during the war.”

“I think you made a fine aide, Hubert. But I am glad you’re happier now, playing a role that you enjoy more.”

“It is nice. I sometimes felt as if I had to force myself to be more outgoing, more energetic than I have ever been before. It feels nice to not have to pretend to be something I am not.”

“You can say that again. I feel like I’ve played a role for my whole life, not just in the opera. It feels nice to just be here and able to do what I want.” She brushed her hand against Hubert’s. “It’s nice to be here with you.”

Hubert's eyes shone with delight. “And it is nice to be here with you as well, Dorothea Arnault.”

And they gazed into each other’s eyes, neither of them able to turn away. Dorothea was ready for whatever life had in store, as long as they could face it together.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is for Dorobert Weekend Day 1: drama/opera
> 
> Thank you to my husband for helping me edit!


End file.
